1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of food preparation apparatus and more particularly to the technical field of automatic stir-fry machines for cooking Chinese or oriental stir-fry dishes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many traditional Chinese or oriental dishes are stir-fry dishes that require unique manual preparation by specially trained chiefs whose training, skills and experience vary significantly. As a result, it is very hard to maintain a uniform quality, taste and standard among different Chinese or oriental food restaurants (and sometimes even within the same restaurant). While automatic food preparation apparatus have been introduced in the past, and some were specially designed for cooking Chinese dishes, various problems and drawbacks have hindered their commercial viability and success. Today, Chinese and oriental dishes are still mainly cooked manually by chiefs.
The following patents and patent applications are believed to be pertinent to this field of art:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,502 issued to Chapin on Mar. 5, 1985 for xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Automated Chinese Stir-Fry, Cookingxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cChapin Patentxe2x80x9d);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,810 issued to Wong on Mar. 17, 1987 for xe2x80x9cAutomatic Cooking Apparatusxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cWong ""810 Patentxe2x80x9d);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,617 issued to Lee on Oct. 20, 1987 for xe2x80x9cAutomatic Frying Machinexe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cLee Patentxe2x80x9d);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,631 issued to Wong on Ap. 18, 1989 for xe2x80x9cCooking Food Devicexe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cWong ""631 Patentxe2x80x9d);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,950 issued to Mak on Apr. 24, 1990 forxe2x80x9cComputer Controlled, Fully Automatic, Short-Order Wok Cooking System for Preparing Stir-Fried Chinese Foodxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cMak Patentxe2x80x9d);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,645 issued to Chang on Sep. 5, 2000 for xe2x80x9cAutomatic Cooking Machinexe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cChang Patentxe2x80x9d);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,323 B1 issued to Adler-Nissen on Dec. 18, 2001 for xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Stir-Fryingxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cAdler-Nissen Patentxe2x80x9d);
8. European Publication No. 0,325,865 B1 published on Aug. 2, 1989 for xe2x80x9cStirring Mechanismxe2x80x9d (hereafter xe2x80x9cEPO Publicationxe2x80x9d).
The Chapin Patent discloses a method and apparatus for cooking Chinese stir-fry dishes. It includes means for entering and storing recipe data in a computer control system, means for selecting a recipe from a displayed menu, and means for cooking the selected recipe automatically by the computer control system including addition of food and liquid ingredients at proper intervals, temperature control throughout the cooking process, stirring of the cooking food, and timing of the cooking process, all according to the recipe selected.
The Wong ""810 Patent discloses a microcomputer-controlled, integrated cooking apparatus for automatically preparing culinary dishes. The constituent ingredients of a particular dish are loaded into a compartmentalized carousel, which is mounted on the cooking apparatus. The apparatus includes a memory for storing one or more recipe programs. The recipe program specifies schedules for dispensing the ingredients from the carousel into a cooking vessel, for heating the vessel (either covered or uncovered), and for stirring the contents of the vessel. These operations are performed automatically under control of the microcomputer.
The Lee Patent discloses an automatic frying machine, including a feeder device to place materials automatically into a pan, a frying and stirring device and a mechanism to turn the pan for the purpose of serving the prepared food the machine does pan washing with a stirrer and water injectors which automatically inject water. The device can be operated in a single process with the operations including material feeding, frying, serving and pan washing.
The Wong ""631 Patent discloses a food cooking device for cooking oriental dishes is disclosed comprising a base and a cooking pan support means pivoted to the base. It has an acceleration and deceleration means for rapidly accelerating upwardly from a starting position to at least the rear portion of the support means at an initial high velocity followed by a subsequent rapid deceleration, whereby when the cooking pan is positioned on the support means, it will move upwardly with the support means and propel food placed therein into the air upon rapid deceleration of the support means.
The Mak Patent discloses a computer controlled, fully automatic wok cooking system prepares stir-fried Chinese dishes according to arbitrarily selected customer orders entered at a point-of-sale computer. The computer integrates the operation of the conveyer, cooking, dispensing, and point of sale entry devices according the order, menu and ingredients. A conveyor belt including a plurality of woks draws the woks through a plurality of cooking stations. Each station is provided with a burner or heating element and a dispensing station controlled by the computer according to the customer enter order. Oil or condiments are added at a first station by a corresponding plurality of dispensers and at subsequent cooking stations the food ingredients are either stirred or additional spices, food ingredients and condiments added by corresponding dispensers. At the last cooking station, additional food ingredients, such a vegetables, nuts or other ingredients requiring shorter cooking times, are added and cooking is completed. The completed short order stir-fried dish is then delivered to a serving container at a delivery station. The emptied wok is advanced by the conveyor system through a plurality of cleaning stations, where the wok is inverted, washed, scoured, rinsed and dried. The cleaned and dried wok is then returned by the conveyor system to the initial cooking station to begin the cooking process again according to the then appropriate customer order.
The Chang Patent discloses an automatic cooking machine includes a feeding device, a deep-fry device, stove device, a cooker transmission device, a serving device, a washing device, a stir-fry device and a panel each mounted on a base. A program logic controller corresponding with micro-switches and photoelectric sensors controls each of the devices to carry out an automatic cooking process.
The Adler-Nissen Patent discloses a method and apparatus for stir-frying discrete pieces or particles of one or more foodstuffs by heating a surface and bringing discrete pieces into contact with the heated surface through an inlet means, transporting said discrete pieces across the heated surface by means of a mechanically driven stirring means and scraping means in the form of a helix, the discrete pieces being stirred such that the orientation of same with respect to the heated surface is altered such that the various surface portions of the discrete pieces are brought into heat conducting contact with the heated surface, at the same time scraping the heated surface by means of the rim of the helix or by means of special scraping and stirring elements arranged along the rim of the helix such that the entire area of the heated surface contacted by the discrete pieces is scraped mechanically so as to remove any layer of material originating from the foodstuffs and adhering to the heated surface and finally, removing the discrete pieces from contact with the heated surface through an outlet means.
The EPO Publication essentially disclosed the same apparatus as disclosed in the Wong ""810 Patent.
It is still desirable to create and design an automatic cooking machine for preparing Chinese or oriental stir-fry dishes in a clean, expeditious and uniform manner.
The present invention is an automatic stir-fry machine for cooking Chinese or oriental dishes.
In summary, the present invention is an automatic stir-fry machine to be placed on a commercial burner for cooking stir-fry dishes. The automatic stir-fry machine includes an adaptor assembly for mounting the automatic stir-fry machine on the burner, forming a closed combustion chamber under the automatic stir-fry machine with only a rear exhaustion port. The automatic stir-fry machine has a closed cooking chamber in a lower portion of the automatic stir-fry machine with only a rear exhaustion port, containing a cooking vessel formed primarily by two oppositely spaced apart vertical sidewalls and a generally cylindrical shaped bottom having a horizontal axis. A slice assembly is supported inside the cooking vessel and rotatable about the horizontal axis of the cylindrical bottom of the cooking vessel, including a transverse scraping slice contacting the bottom of the cooking vessel with spring tension, and a pair of oppositely spaced apart and diagonally oriented stirring slices contacting opposite corners of the cooking vessel where the cylindrical bottom and the sidewalls join, for stirring, tossing and mixing food items inside the cooking vessel. The automatic stir-fry machine also has various storage and delivery systems located in an upper portion of the automatic stir-fry machine for containing ingredients and dry or liquid condiments and dispensing pre-determined amounts of the ingredients and condiments into the cooking vessel at pre-determined times for cooking the stir-fry dishes. The automatic stir-fry machine further includes a micro-controller located in a front portion of the automatic stir-fry machine for controlling the automatic cooking operation of the automatic stir-fry machine.
The present invention automatic stir-fry machines is very unique and advantageous. It automates the cooking process of Chinese stir-fry dishes with the aid of a microprocessor controller that allows the operator to select the dish (and quantity) to be cooked from an extensive menu and then starts the cooking process automatically. The automatic stir-fry machine has large capacity storage chambers for main ingredients, and various containers for powdered or liquid condiments with display windows or level indicators that are under the control of the microprocessor controller for precise and timely delivery of the ingredients and condiments which ensure the uniformity of the taste, quality and standard of the cooked dishes. It is designed to be placed on a commercial burner and has a closed cooking chamber that improves energy efficiency. It also has a uniquely designed cooking vessel and slice assembly that increases the effectiveness of mixing and stirring of the food being cooked in the cooking vessel. The automatic stir-fry machine is further equipped with an automatic cleaning system and multiple fire-extinguishing safety systems.